Reality and the Despair That Follows
by ICCFOWIGSM
Summary: When disaster hits someone close to Ikuto, his natural response is to bring his loved ones closer. He looks to Amu for some much needed happiness. Her life brings light to his, but what if she's the reason he's torn apart again? Romance/Tragedy/Supernatural.


The clouds cleared as the thunderstorm came to an end. Sunlight began to shine through what was left of the horrifying weather. The sky soon became as clear as diamond as the sun appeared along the horizon and a faint rainbow grew upon the atmosphere above me. I stared upwards in awe at the colourful, extraordinary reflection of light from the sun and rain's team effort.

It was truly an amazing sight to see, but all it did was remind me that I was soaked from head to toe. I didn't really mind how uncomfortable and cold I felt, sitting in the mucky grass and mud. I couldn't really care less at the time. I had experienced the most astounding moment of my life, minutes before. The glorious scene beyond my eyes acted as compensation for the tragedy that had recently occurred and greatly effected the people closest to me. To be honest, I couldn't be any happier. While my dearest love had been left worried and confused, I lied there carelessly, in the mud and full of joy. My long and vast journey had arrived to an end.

I slowly closed my eyes and listened to my surroundings. The soothing sound and feeling of the rustling leaves against the wind and my wet skin relaxed my tensed body and allowed me to enjoy myself better. The beautiful hill I lay on was accompanied by a small river, a place known for making memories. I had plenty of moments I could recall that occurred there.

"Ikuto?" A voice chimed through my ears, sounding slightly displeased. I tilted my head backwards to find myself face-to-face with the spring of my great success, Amu. Her beautiful mind and attitude was the one and only source of my power. Her gorgeous, golden orbs stared into my blue ones, still and emotionless. I sat up straight and turned around to face her, noticing the strange turn of aura emitting from her. She stood up straight and looked at me as if she was expecting a response. The aged and mature version of Amu was much more refined and... developed. Her clothes weren't soaked like mine, in fact, she seemed quite dressed up for some sort of occasion. The look on her flawless face wasn't the usual perky one I fell in love with. Something was up.

"Amu, what's up?" I asked seriously, standing up to exceed her height and get a better look at her. I gently placed my hands on her shoulders and grabbed her attention by locking my eyes onto hers. "You seem troubled."

Her eyes suddenly seemed to grow distant and weary as she brushed my hands away and broke eye contact. "Where have you been?" She hissed quietly, anger seeping through her tone.

"I've been where I've been." I replied, shrugging off the subject completely.

"Ikuto, you proposed to me moments ago and disappeared. I believe I have a right to know where you have been and why you're soaked!"

I sighed, looking back on my life choices. Ah, I forgot to mention to anyone that I left for a brief stroll in the rain. I supposed I should have told someone, but they shouldn't have noticed. A smirk grew upon my face as I softly grabbed her chin to convey my sincerity. "Sorry, I went out for a bit. Were you worried about me?"

Her face grew hot as she attempted to avert her eyes away from mine, but I had her in my grasp. She exhaled, trying to prevent her usual distorted speech from spewing out. "O-Of course I wasn't worried!"

My smirk drooped into a small pout as I released her chin and turned away. "Are you saying you don't care about me?"

"No that's n-not what I meant! I was worried, alright?" She admitted, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

I couldn't help but chuckle at her foolishness. Amu was extremely vulnerable and gullible to the point where it was impossible not to toy with her feelings. I would never purposely hurt her for my own entertainment, but a little playing around wouldn't do any harm. She's adorable, kind, and innocent. I couldn't possibly do anything to deceive her trust in me.

Cold silence surrounded us for a few minutes. Amu nuzzled her head comfortably into my back and tightened her grasp around me. She inhaled lightly before speaking. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"You know... for what happened to Utau." She answered quietly, nuzzling harder.

"Why are you apologizing? What happened to her wasn't your fault. It was some freak accident that could have happened to anyone."

"But it happened to someone dear to you-"

"Amu, don't worry about it." I felt her light breathing become unsteady against my back. I sighed, spinning around to face the childish pink-haired woman. Her rosy cheeks were soaked with tears which broke my heart to see. I embraced her, rubbing her back as my condolences. "Shhh, don't cry. You somehow manage to look significantly uglier when you cry."

She feverishly wiped away her tears, giving out a weak laugh. "Only you would notice that I look ugly when I cry. You're always staring at me, p-pervert."

I pulled away and brushed the loose strands of hair away from her face to look into her eyes. "It's not because I'm perverted that I'm always staring at you. It's because I love you."

Amu's eyes glistened under the moonlight, but soon hers and my eyelids were shut as the space between us vanished and our lips met. The warmth of her lips as they met mine was pure bliss. Nothing surrounding us could be heard through my ears because the sweetness of that moment had me in my own little world. It felt like it had lasted forever - well, I wanted it to - but in reality it had only lasted a minute or two because our oxygen supplies were limited. I had the sudden urge to pick Amu up bridal-style, so I did.

"What are you doing?! Put me down!" She cried, but it was obvious by her smile that she enjoyed it. "You're all wet and you smell bad! Let go of me!"

"No," I said, mentally vowing to say nothing else until we reached my apartment. I knew the walk wasn't very long, so I tried to savor every moment of it. Utau's death was an eye opener for me and it helped me realize that any moment could be my last, meaning I have to treat it like it is. I also have to help Amu have an incredible life because having her regret choosing me - as her life partner - would be the worst thing I could ever experience.

"Ikuto, can I ask you something?" She asked as we approached the apartment complex. "If I were to ever disappear, would you marry someone else in my place?"

I stared bitterly at her, unable to produce an immediate answer. "I obviously wouldn't marry someone else, stupid. I couldn't love anyone more than you, so it'd be pointless."

She smiled, having received a satisfying answer. "Good."

I set her down and entered the building, leading her to the elevator. My room was on the eleventh floor, therefore it was necessary to take the shortcut. Inside, we exchanged warm glances, but not a single word was spoken. The smile on her face was genuine and I knew it. I couldn't believe that I was the only person who had fallen in love with that gorgeous, caring girl. The heart she possessed was the biggest I had ever seen someone with. I felt that nobody could be happier than I was at the time.

Once we reached my floor, I brought out my keys and began unlocking the door. I felt quite uneasy about it for some reason, but I wasn't really sure why.

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 **I wasn't planning on posting this until I finished every chapter, but it looks like I can't even complete chapter two. I'll post what I have left, but no guarantees it'll be up anytime soon. Maybe a ton of reviews will encourage me? ^-^**


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